Mother Scott's hands are as light as birds. It is as if the bones of her hands are the same as those of a bird: Hollow. If you ever have the chance to take Mother Scott's hand, take it gently.

Naomi Scott was born 89 years ago in Fairhope, Ala., the great-great granddaughter of a slave. She and her husband, Joseph Scott, moved to Milwaukee in 1951, urged by his mother to join the great migration north.